Rose’s POV

Blackwood Tower's lavish ballroom glimmered in crystal chandelier light, with a hum of excited conversation suspended in mid-air. Tonight was a celebratory evening—for power, for unity, for new beginnings. The joining of Blackwood and Solomon Empires was official at last, and I was at its forefront.

Draped in a lovely, flowing emerald-colored evening gown that hung over my swelling belly, I let the gravity of it all sink in. I had once floated on a tide of hurt and doubt. But ...